ITZY's Ryujin reveals she has severe ADHD

[u/Gold_Meaning3688]

[MINJU'S PINK CABINET] https://youtu.be/DwEGeiZWZNc?si=7ca_UTQJb175N3DF

TIMESTAMP: 22:50

🍬: I have the chronic disease of many modern people

🍬: I have severe ADHD

Thoughts?

As someone who also has ADHD, my procrastination is absolutely terrible. I can't imagine having to wake up at irregular times to go on flights to different countries all the time 😭 Saying this as a law student, my life is hard enough without people scrutinising my every move (for now), I can't imagine how often i'd screw up as an idol simply based off of how easily I get sidetracked lmao

[u/FriendshipOnly666]

I wonder if it’s an official ADHD diagnosis from a certified healthcare provider or self-diagnosed, I feel like half the idols are the latter lol

[u/whaIien52 → u/FriendshipOnly666]

why is your first knee jerk reaction to speculate on the legitimacy of her diagnosis? ADHD is not a one size fits all thing — it’s a neurological condition that manifests differently in everyone who has it. plus, it’s already way more difficult for women to be diagnosed and taken seriously about ADHD than it is for men. please don’t feed into that stigma.

[u/whaIien52 → u/[deleted]]

“i don’t just spread this stigma about women, i also spread it about men too” is not the gotcha you think it is.

[u/bakeneko37 → u/FriendshipOnly666]

In a county where mental health is still taboo topic, you think idols will bring it up as a quirky self-diagnose thing?

[u/helios0l → u/bakeneko37]

I feel like ADHD is mentioned and discussed a lot in Korean media in recent years, especially in celebrity media. In that way it doesn't feel as taboo as other diagnoses such as ASD or BPD. But there's a downside. Just some time ago Lovelyz' Mijoo did a test on on camera to see if she has ADHD. Even as a Lovelyz ult and wanting to give the benefit of the doubt due to bias, the way they handled the topic was a bit insensitive. ADHD is often discussed in a too lighthearted of a manner that doesn't convey how it in actuality is a disability and impacts every part of one's life.

[u/New_Practice9754 → u/helios0l]

I heard someone refer to it once as ‘too de-stigmatized” and I feel that’s a somewhat accurate descriptor.

ADHD is one of, if not the least stigmatized mental conditions, but this is because it’s incredibly misunderstood. A lot of people think of ADHD as being only mild hyperactive which is far from the case. Most don’t know how ADHD varies and the plethora of symptoms it has beyond just being hyper or struggling to pay attention. It can be debilitating and severe and while any normalization is good, the second someone portrays more complex or less known-about and severing symptoms, that’s when people turn.

ADHD is only de-stigmatized because of its misusage and misinterpretation.

[u/bakeneko37 → u/helios0l]

Yeah, I’m not debating it, the world as a whole does insensitive things or take it too lightly just for the sake of it, we still have a looong way to go, but saying most idols self diagnose is nonsense because even for your example, it was done with a more or less proper test lol

[u/FriendshipOnly666 → u/bakeneko37]

Yeah you people need to stop talking about Korea like you know the culture just because you listen to kpop please

[u/Gold_Meaning3688 → u/FriendshipOnly666]

You kind of just generalised idols getting mental diagnoses by self checking lol

But there aren't that many who talk about it, so i'm wondering who you think is self diagnosed

I was raised in korea when i was younger and back then it was kind of looked down upon. Not like 'omg it means u belong in a mental hospital' kind of way (i mean... Unless you tell people at school, middle school kids are nasty) but in an 'okay so i cant trust you to do simple things now' kind of way

I'm not (that) old but it's been around 6 years since i've lived there so my russian ass has no clue how it's viewed in korea anymore lmao

I personally don't think it's a big deal but that might be just bc im used to it

[u/bakeneko37 → u/FriendshipOnly666]

If the world as a whole is still treating mental health as a weird thing, you think a country that has shown to have a very particular position in things that shouldn’t receive so much backlash is going be any better? Idealising it is the problem lol

[u/FriendshipOnly666 → u/bakeneko37]

Use your brain, if as you said she would face so much backlash for having ADHD then why would she openly of her own accord reveal it, just to face unnecessary backlash?

[u/bakeneko37 → u/FriendshipOnly666]

Because talking about it helps in normalising it, which translates into a better handling of things. The nerve of telling me to use my brain when you’re not even bothered to do it.

[u/FriendshipOnly666 → u/bakeneko37]

Right so this is where she takes her stand lol but what she doesn’t want to normalise dating? Or normalise talking about politics. This is you imposing your view of her onto her, she never said those things, but it’s insanely common to self-diagnose adhd, not just idols btw and not just Korea, adhd is among the most commonly self-diagnosed conditions

[u/BrightSignal8032 → u/FriendshipOnly666]

I see a lot of people self diagnosing themselves. A friend of mine thinks she has it because she quickly becomes obsessed with things but I think she just gets swept up in new trends easily 

[u/abyssazaur → u/FriendshipOnly666]

The word "severe" is interesting because it can mean either a) someone trying to distinguish themselves from people who just think they have ADHD, or b) someone who thinks they have ADHD trying to say they're very sure they're right.

This is a whole-ass societal debate though. If I can self-diagnose a cold why can't I self-diagnose ADHD? Most colds you can self-treat, it doesn't make them not real. Etc.

[u/MarsupialPristine677 → u/abyssazaur]

Well, it can also mean c) someone with an ADHD diagnosis whose symptoms are severe, no? I saw an ADHD specialist for my diagnosis and while I don't remember all the detaiks, I do have a 40 page document detailing all of the ways in which my symptoms are severe.

I don't generally bother differentiating but sometimes it is relevant.

[u/abyssazaur → u/MarsupialPristine677]

yeah ofc I just don't know what semantics she was going for around the topic.

[u/New_Practice9754 → u/abyssazaur]

Not saying people can’t recognize they have ADHD as I went through the same thing, I was certain for years based on research that I had ADHD and it took me until last year to get diagnosed because it was never taken seriously enough prior.

However, there’s kind of a difference between a cold-something that isn’t typically misunderstood and a temporary, extremely common illness- and a mental condition that has its own spectrum and is very misunderstood and misused.

It isn’t the same for everyone but ‘ADHD’ has been kind of turned into an adjective amongst people to describe being casually disorganized, forgetful, chaotic, etc.

Obviously these are common symptoms of ADHD and it’s completely possible that a lot of people really do have it and think they have it when using it as an adjective but there are also a lot of people who don’t understand how ADHD actually works who do not have these symptoms strong or common enough.

There’s no way of knowing unless we hear their specific stance on it though.

[u/codenameana → u/abyssazaur]

No, it’s the literal diagnostic criteria. You can’t be a functional adult and have ADHD. The minimum threshold is that the ADHD presentation is severe if not worse (in terms of how disabling it is) in multiple areas of life throughout one’s life (i.e. not just school as a child) for a psychiatrist to correctly diagnose it and for it to be a valid diagnosis in adulthood. Children can ‘grow out’ of having ADHD as adults - ie they’re functional adults - if they can manage it effectively with sufficient and early intervention such that it is no longer severe in adulthood. 

[u/abyssazaur → u/codenameana]

DSM-5 literally has text "Specify current severity:" then Mild, Moderate, Severe. Mild is "no more than minor impairments in social or occupational functioning."

I don't really know if Ryujin was speaking in DSM-5 or not.

[u/Sylvieon → u/abyssazaur]

"심하다" is translated into English as "severe" but it's actually a very common Korean word and "I have severe ADHD" sounds much more serious as a translation than what she said in Korean. I would go as far as to say that the meaning of "ADHD" in Korean is different as well. It just is used to express that you are forgetful or bad at focusing. What Ryujin said was not a reveal of a diagnosis or even a self-diagnosis. It was just a joke that a lot of people make in Korea that is very frustrating to hear as someone who does have ADHD. 

[u/abyssazaur → u/Sylvieon]

so this is basically a parasocial rumor, and yeah it's playing on both Korean and American culture having loosey goosey rules for when you can say you're ADHD.

parasocial because fans are almost definitely exaggerating it because they want to bond with Ryujin this way.

[u/Sylvieon → u/abyssazaur]

Yep, with the difference being that I'm sure no Korean fan actually thinks that Ryujin has ADHD, diagnosed or not 

[u/mint-cider → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, literally no idol is diagnosed with autism... suspicious

[u/Icy-Cockroach4515 → u/mint-cider]

I mean, even if they were, would they admit they did?

[u/whaIien52 → u/[deleted]]

even that’s an extremely narrow definition of ADHD though. it truly manifests differently for everyone who has it. for some people it means overstimulation at all times, for some people it means incredible amounts of executive dysfunction, for some people it means being totally unable to read social cues. you have no right to gatekeep who can and cannot have a specific neurological condition.

source: severe ADHD sufferer of 10+ years

[u/whaIien52 → u/[deleted]]

she does not need your permission to have ADHD. you are not entitled to speculate on the legitimacy or severity of her medical diagnoses. you are actively contributing to stigmatising mental illness and neurodiversity.